Dipping 'pura vida'? Costa Ricans show lack of enthusiasm in run-up to February elections
- Fulton T. Armstrong is a contributor to at the Center for Latin American and Latino Studies.
The views expressed are the author's own.
Costa Rica is approaching February鈥檚 presidential and legislative elections with a distinct lack of enthusiasm, if not with dread.聽
Most international surveys present Costa Rica as the 鈥渨orld鈥檚 happiest country鈥� (the Happy Planet Index), or in the elite club of the world鈥檚 鈥渇ull democracies鈥� (ahead of Japan and Belgium in The Economist鈥檚 list), or as the 48th least-corrupt country (out of 174 reviewed by Transparency International).听
The economy is expected to grow about 3 percent this year, and the country鈥檚 access to foreign direct investment is blunting the impact of the government鈥檚 fiscal deficit of about 5聽percent of GDP.聽 Crime is on the rise, but Ticos know that their pain is small compared to that wreaked by the narcos聽and maras in Guatemala, El聽Salvador, and Honduras.
Reputable polls show, however, that Costa Ricans are gloomy about the state of their political institutions and specifically about their upcoming elections.聽 According to polls, about 32 percent of the country鈥檚 3聽million eligible voters say they plan to abstain, citing corruption, a lack of leadership, insensitivity to the average citizen, and unemployment as reasons to reject not just the candidates but also the political elite in general.聽
The President of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), Luis Antonio Sobrado, acknowledged last month that the election was taking place in the context of 鈥渃itizen uneasiness 鈥� and a lot of anger with politics and politicians.鈥澛�
Abstentionism was high in 2006 (35 percent) and 2010 (32 percent), but commentators sense a much deeper and darker alienation this time around.聽 A columnist lamented that the 鈥渕ultiparty鈥� system has been replaced by 鈥渁tomization,鈥� and another said the political parties have 鈥渄isconnected themselves from the national reality.鈥�
Further reflecting the malaise, President Laura Chinchilla鈥檚 support has nosedived 鈥� a July poll showed only 9 percent of voters said she was 鈥済ood鈥� and none said 鈥渧ery good鈥� 鈥� and pundits cite her ineffectiveness as the cause of collapsed highways, dengue outbreaks, and other calamities.
The nominee of her Partido de Liberaci贸n Nacional (PLN), Johnny Araya, is widely thought to have an edge in February, but his 12 years as mayor of San Jos茅 have coincided with a deterioration in the city鈥檚 infrastructure and security, and his personal lifestyle (including five marriages) may be a factor in popular skepticism. The government鈥檚 recent announcement that it will contract the services of 4,125 new employees in 2014, mostly in the education sector, drew immediate criticism as yet another example of political patronage to influence the race.
The self-doubt seems at this point indicative of concerns about President Chinchilla and the crop of candidates, rather than a rejection of democracy. Costa Ricans comparing themselves with the rest of Central America still feel good about themselves, and the green image that eco-tourists reinforce is comforting.聽 But crumbling infrastructure 鈥� including collapsing bridges and the exorbitant cost of repeated repairs 鈥� and shocking crimes, such as the recent assassination of an environmentalist protecting turtles on a Caribbean beach, fuel the sort of doubts that only effective political and economic leadership can quell.聽
